When Apple ships the new Apple TV on 16 March, owners of the small set-top box will be able to sign up for Netflix on screen and pay for the subscription streaming service through their iTunes account.
Netflix said the tie-in will allow ATV 3 owners to watch "thousands of hours" of 1080p HD content.
Apple TV
Folk using the …

COMMENTS

I had better not have to pay it - I bought my Netflix subscription through my PS3 (paying directly via direct debit) - I'll be cancelling if they try to up my subscription by £2 to cover Apple's cut when i didn't use Apple to buy the service

Alternatively - if Netflix soak it up - do they really want to be pushing 30% of all their subscription revenue to Apple - especially as they'll still have to maintain all their non-Apple subscription mangement systems to cover the non-Apple subscribers.

Re: Who is paying the 30% Apple cut ?

This is a hot topic of conversation all over the 'net right now.

First off, it's highly unlikely that the price will be higher over iTunes - that would look REALLY bad for Apple, wouldn't look good for Netflix, and is such an obvious disaster that it's just not going to happen.

Second, most people seem to agree that a) Netflix probably wouldn't pay the 30% - if nothing else, they probably can't afford it, and b) Apple is unlikely to budge on it's 30% standard.

Since the second point is inherently contradictory, something obviously gave somewhere, but exactly what, and where, and how, is at the moment anyone's guess. Let's face it - this deal is good for Netflix AND Apple - Apple TV is not, has not, and doesn't really look apt to do well on it's own, and Netflix could use all the subscribers it can get - so long as it gets them at a price that makes them even barely profitable. Maybe Netflix is getting something from Apple to make it worth eating a 30% hit to a small set of it's subscription base. Maybe the two - *quiet gasp* - compromised? We may never know while it's still relevant. *shrug*

Re: Who is paying the 30% Apple cut ?

Remember though Apples 30% tends to content distribution which is solely done through apple. Netflix has its own content which it is streaming.

Apples benefit is that Netflix gives people more of a reason to look at iTV. Netflix expands the subscriber base. If Netflix can bring get people on the iTV, Apple can then start pushing its garden on everyone.

Right now, what reason would you have to get iTV. You need content, but I suppose if you sell enough koolaid, you can take the tablet approach and build a bigger ipad which can be run by your little iPad.

ATV2 can't handle 1080p content

Why don't they detect which device they're streaming to, and have an alternative stream which the ATV2 CAN play? Heck, the video server I run at work does HTML5 video dishing up and that's open source not apple-or-greedy-DRMy-american software/system. Backwards compatibility should help their market sharet. Especially with all the lovefilm promo I'm seeing (OK in the UK there are Netflix prizes being given away on a nation-wide commercial station but with amazon backing it could still be hard for them).